Hi :) It's boysof_p0tterfan509 from the forums, here with your review! Thank you once again for taking up the challenge.

Wow. That's all I can say right now: wow. This was such a great one-shot to read. It had so much feeling, and was so very deep and well thought-out to a point. Before I'd read this, I had never once thought about 'love' the way that Molly does, and now I think I'll be thinking twice about it from now on. ;)

Your adaptation of the picture that you were given was well done as well; you took the things you could from the photo - the words on her arms, and the coffee - and expanded on them greatly, as the challenge proposed. I thought that you did a fine job doing so on the description front, and the feelings of uncertainty when it came to the word 'love' only made the one-shot more likable for me.

Thank you one more time for taking the time to enter the challenge. :)

Best,
Nadhira

Author's Response: Hi! I'm sorry for how atrociously long it's taken to respond!

For a second I just stared at that photo blankly, and then my mind just about exploded with this idea. I'm not sure how I decided what I was doing, but there you go. This challenge was perfect inspiration. :P

Thanks so much for taking the time to review! And thanks for posting a challenge that got my muse rolling :)

Sami, this was beautiful! It was so different and it flowed excellently. I love how Molly is so afraid of the word 'love', because let's face it, it IS a scary word! I loved this line: " It could apply to pumpkin pasties much more easily than it could to her latest fling." It's so true. I always say 'I love chocolate' or whatever, but it's such a big deal to say you love a person! I think you've really shown that in this one-shot.
I also like how you didn't add a conclusion at the end, as in Molly fell in love and lived happily ever after. Because there aren't usually happily ever afters in life, but Molly still lives with the vague hope that she might say the word to somebody some day.
LOVED IT! Well done! xx

Author's Response: Heather, sorry it took me so atrociously long to respond! Thanks for telling me what you think -- I actually never planned to give Molly a happily ever after in the story. It didn't even cross my mind. Perhaps this says something about me? =P Haha, I'm glad you liked it!

Hey!
That was a pretty cool one-shot...though I found it a bit confusing...the timeline was a bit difficult to follow..But your in-depth analysis of love has made me re-think about my defination of love...and the use of amor...amazing!!!
Your description of her feelings...as a teenager, a little older and then an adult is really good and makes me (the reader) understand how the feelings and emotions change over a period of time...Well done!!!

~CessZ

Author's Response: Hey! I'm sorry you found it confusing... a lot of it is spent with her looking back on the many times she said "love." But I'm glad you liked it anyway!

That was incredibly poetic and lovely. And that was an unintentional pun, I promise. I really liked reading that. It had such a meditative quality to it, almost like something that I'd once thought of while staring out the window on a rainy day. It was absolutely dream-like.

I should say, in closing, that I loved it. Even if I'm not really sure what that means anymore. 10/10

Author's Response: I'm happy it gave you that feeling, as that's a bit how I felt while writing it. Well, it wasn't rainy, and I was staring at the monitor, but you know what I meant. That was sort of my mindframe. XD

Wow. This was a very interesting piece that I actually read twice just to make sure I got the full weight of it. First off, I love that you used Molly Weasley II as your main character; I find that so often she is written off as just another version of Percy, so I am always glad to see her in a different characterization.

I think the really brilliant thing about this story is that no matter who you are, you can relate to it. I think we have all faced that moment where we weren't sure what love actually meant to us. I love the part about how some people use love to describe anything, because I have always had the same thought. Some people can just toss out the word love to any person and thing that they even remotely enjoy. It is great that you showed how sometimes it is used so often that the word is reduced to nothing.

Another thing I really like is the use of the Latin form of love. You are right; I have always thought Amor sounded better, and I liked that Molly thought it was better because it was not so overused. Scorpius attempting to show her love was also very good. He was like that one guy in life who you think you should love, but underneath it all you just can't.

My favorite part, however, was the first and last line. It just beautifully summarizes the piece and manages to draw readers in.

Your grammar and spelling is exceptional, and I saw no obvious errors.

I hope this review helps you in some way.

Author's Response: Hi, sorry it took a while to respond!

I was given Molly II as a character for a challenge, and I knew I wanted to make her something different from generally seen in fanfic.

I hear (and say) the word love used in so many different ways; my Molly is just the kind of girl who can't help but feel bothered by the way it's been manipulated. Maybe it's just because I'm not Latin, but to me, I don't think you can say that you "amor" chocolate, or anything like that.

Oh man, this was a really nice read. I love that you used Molly(II) and a topic that people never seem to take seriously. I think a lot of people can relate to her, myself included. Sometimes I find it so hard to say, the word alone makes my tongue heavy.

I like the gesture of writing it on her arms in an effort to try to understand how this one little word could carry so much weight, it's astounding. I'm so glad you mentioned Lysander (I ship the two of them). In recounting her past relationships, the one guy that tried to make a difference was the least likely person...I like that, it usually happens anyway.

People have so many definitions of love but heaven knows if any of them are the right one.

I really enjoyed this story, you did a great job and I love it even more because it does not have an ounce of dialogue.

Lia.

Author's Response: Hi Lia!

It's so hard to say when you actually mean it, but at the same time, when you *don't* mean it, it comes out so easily, you know? At least, for me.

Haha, I'm still trying to decide where I stand on Next Gen ships, but Lysander's name came to mind as someone who could have been one of her potential relationships.

Yep, no dialogue, just a glimpse inside Molly's head and the one word she struggles with. Thanks for reviewing! :)

It's easy to identify with Molly here when you haven't found your one true love yet. This felt like such an honest piece, if you know what I mean. I also liked it that Molly didn't find her true love by the end of this. It would somehow have lost some of its effect that way, I think.

This really makes me think of how we use the word love in general. It maybe comes more easily for things than people. Like "I love coffee! I love chocolate!" or something else like that. That's easier to say than "I love you" I think. And somehow I feel like it's in any way easier to say in English than at least in my native languages Finnish and Swedish. Maybe that's because they are longer words and love is easier to say than that. Like you here also talked about the differences between love and amor. ("I love you" by the way is in Finnish "Minš rakastan sinua" and in Swedish "Jag šlskar dej".)

With the risk of sounding a bit strange after all the talk about the word, I'm going to say that I especially loved the title of this. I also loved the first line and last line. Wow this was a very thought provoking piece and it's good writing. I truly did enjoy reading this.

Author's Response: I wanted to make Molly and her situation relateable. If it sounds honest, I think it might be because I've wondered the same thing on and off -- the word's used in so many ways, so how much powerful of a meaning can it have anymore?

Someone once pointed out to me that we use the same word to describe a pizza as we do for deep affection for someone else. I think "love" in English has become so worn out, whereas "amor" to me sounds like something you can't give muliple meanings.

Is it sad that I can't pronounce either of those? :P I wish I could, I love languages!

Hey, I'm one of the people who's doing the 1,000 words challenge as well and I stumbled across yours and decided to give it a read (:

I loved how you've written this, it really brings out so many emotions and so much information in such a little amount of words. It felt like I was Molly and I was having the same confusion about the word 'love' as well. It was a struggle to find out what it actually means when you say it and when you mean it and it was the emotions that really hit me when I had finished this.

I love how you've adapted different relationships that could be love, from parents to sisters to grandparents to uncles and aunties and cousins and boyfriends. There are so many variations of love that can be used in the different relationship you have with different people and I think you highlighted this well especially (:

I also loved the characterization of Molly, I've never really read her as a main character before and the only other times I have read about her she's a replica of Percy but you've brought so much depth to her than a lot of people would realise about someone like Molly. That she isn't just the daughter of Percy Weasley but she's an actual person who is different and unique in her own way and has as much to deal with just like everyone else.

I loved reading this and to be very honest I think you have a really good chance of winning the challenge (:

x

Author's Response: Hey! Fun challenge, huh? :)

I haven't read too much Molly-centric either, but I do know that she's often portrayed as a female, slightly watered-down version of Percy. It's plausible, I'm not saying it's a bad characterization (provided she isn't, like, CARBON COPY), it just wouldn't have worked with this.

I tried to make it raw, genuine emotion, something that everyone could understand. Everyone's said the different "I love you"s -- maybe not all of them, but some, and I'm glad you thought I portrayed that well :)

Thank you for reviewing! Wow, you really think so?! I'll have to take a look at yours when it's up.

Oh man, I got chills several times while reading this. It's so beautifully written and simple, but incredibly complex.

I loved the little side story with Scorpius, how he tried to show her what it meant but it didn't work. But I think the part I loved the most about it was when he hadn't really expected her to understand it.

I truly enjoyed reading this story!

Magically Yours,

Dem

Author's Response: Hey Dem!

I'm floundering for something coherent to say in response to the praise. =P ...I'm failing. I'm glad you enjoyed reading this, and thanks for stopping to review, too!